Toolkit for policy makers on Open Science and Open Access

Open Science Policy Checklist

for Research Funding Organisations (RFOs)

Is your organisation ready to adopt an Open Science Policy?

OpenAIRE has designed the following checklist to enable Research Funding Organisations (RFOs) to assess their readiness in adopting an Open Science Policy. It covers main elements that should be taken into account in designing a policy that is aligned with the Horizon 2020 requirements on Open Access and the key developments at EU level related to Open Science/ Open Access.

  • The survey comprises 11 statements. For each statement, there are three possible answers (A, B, C). Responses under A indicate higher readiness, therefore the higher the number of as recorded, the readier an RFO is.

1. Policy

  1. The RFO has a policy on Open Science/ Open Access
  2. The RFO is in the process of developing an Open Science Policy and has already endorsed related declarations (Berlin Declaration, San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment)
  3. The RFO does not have an Open Science/ Open Access policy, nor has it endorsed any related declarations

2. Roles and Responsibilities

  1. The policy specifies the roles, rights and responsibilities of both the funder, the grantees and their host institutions
  2. There is a rather vague description of the roles and responsibilities of each party involved in the implementation of the policy
  3. There is only a description of the grantees responsibilities, without any reference to the roles and responsibilities of the funder in supporting the grantee and his/her host institution in complying with the policy

3. Publications and Sharing

  1. The RFO policy is aligned with the Horizon 2020 requirements in defining the terms of providing open access to publications (mandatory deposit, locus of deposit, time of deposit, provision of open access and embargo periods, licenses and copyright)
  2. The RFO policy defines the terms of providing open access to publications, but these are not aligned with the Horizon 2020 requirements
  3. The RFO policy does not mandate open access to publications

4. Research Data

  1. The RFO policy has specific provisions (aligned with the Horizon 2020 requirements) stipulating open data by default, establishing reasons for opting-out and laying down provisions for archiving, sharing, long-term preservation etc.
  2. The RFO has provisions on open data, but these are not aligned with the Horizon 2020 requirements
  3. The RFO policy does not mandate open access to research data

5. Infrastructure

  1. The RFO policy recommends the use of repositories that meet quality standards (OpenAIRE compatibility, CoreTrustSeal, FAIR principles) and provides guidance to grantees
  2. The RFO policy recommends the use of repositories that meet quality standards (OpenAIRE compatibility, CoreTrustSeal, FAIR principles), but does not provide further guidance to grantees
  3. The policy provides no guidance regarding the selection of repositories

6. Training

  1. The RFO policy ensures the allocation of funds for awareness-raising activities and training in cooperation with RPOs and other stakeholders
  2. The RFO allocates some funds for awareness-raising on its policy
  3. The RFO policy has no dedicated funding in support of awareness-raising or training activities

7. Open Science

  1. The RFO has included “openness” as a criterion in proposal/project evaluation
  2. The RFO policy only considers Open Access to publications and research data during the evaluation of proposal/ projects
  3. The RFO policy does not include any evaluation criterion linked to “openness”

8. Open Access Publication Fees

  1. The RFO provides funding for open access publication costs to grantees and to their institutions
  2. The RFO provides funding to grantees for open access publication costs
  3. The RFO provides funding for open access publication costs, including for publications in hybrid journals

9. Monitoring and Compliance

  1. The RFO has a set up a mechanism for monitoring policy compliance by its grantees, including sanctions for no compliance (reduction in the amount of the grant)
  2. The RFO has a mechanism for monitoring policy compliance by its grantees, yet no sanctions are foreseen in the case of no compliance
  3. There is no mechanism for monitoring compliance

10. Revision and Updates

  1. The RFOs policy contains a specific time plan for its review (and possible update)
  2. The RFO is in the process of developing a plan for the review (and possible update) of its policy
  3. There is no provision in the policy for its review/ update

11. Machine-readability of Policy

  1. The policy is provided in a machine-readable format and can be accessed via API
  2. The RFO will shortly provide its policy in a machine-readable format
  3. The policy is not provided in a machine-readable format
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OpenAIRE has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme under Grant Agreements No. 777541 and 101017452 (see all).

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